Inclusive Education Project (IEP) Podcast

Trauma-Informed IEPs: When Behavior Signals More with Dr. Desirie Sykes

​​Happy New Year! We can’t believe it’s already 2026. We made it through the holidays, which can be a particularly challenging time for many students. Our last episode of 2025 covered the topics of misbehavior and dysregulation, and we continue in that direction with today’s guest. Join us to learn more!Dr. Desirie Sykes is a speaker, leader, advocate, author, and CEO. She is the founder of NESS Behavior Consulting and NESS Cares, a nonprofit in New York. NESS Behavior Consulting provides resources for mental health and special education, targeting children with a primary diagnosis of autism. Dr. Sykes collaborates with local school districts in the Long Island, NY, area, providing support and services tailored to meet a student’s IEP. Her passion is to enlighten, uplift, and empower, while changing the narrative around mental health and providing accessible resources to those who need them. Show Highlights:Being sensitive and intuitive when behavior signals a deeper mental health issueBridging the gap between home and school behavior: A look at the big pictureParents should speak up in IEP meetings and ask questions confidently.Identifying your “starting point” in getting real about behavioral responsesThe challenge: Turning functional behavioral plans into doable bitsImportance of concrete, objective data about student behavior“How does the child feel about their environment?”Look at the big picture, not just the IEP meeting.Implementation of the needed supports is the key!One thing Dr. Sykes wants educators and parents to knowServices available through NESS Behavior ConsultingResources:Connect with Dr. Desirie SykesNESS Behavior ConsultingNESS CaresDesirieSykes.comContact us on social media or through our website for more information on the IEP Learning Center: www.inclusiveeducationproject.org.Thank you for listening!Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday. If you enjoyed this episode and believe in our message, please help us get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show on Apple Podcasts, Pandora, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your rating and review help other listeners find this show. Be sure to connect with us and reach out with any questions or concerns: Facebook, Instagram, X, IEP Website, and Email.

A New Look at Misbehavior: Creating Upstream Solutions for Dysregulated Students with Dr. Doug Bolton

This episode will be the final one of 2025, as we take a break from the podcast over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Before we introduce today’s topic and guest, we want to address the “elephant in the room”: the shifts happening in the Department of Education under the Trump administration. Just a heads-up: following us on Instagram is the best way to stay up to date on current happenings in our world. Please keep in touch! Today’s topic is behavior and discipline with our guest, Dr. Doug Bolton. Join us!Dr. Doug Bolton is a clinical psychologist who has always been drawn to working with kids who experience behavioral problems. Knowing that being in schools gives him the best vantage point from which to help kids, Doug became a school psychologist and later a principal at a therapeutic school. He is currently a consultant working with families to help vulnerable kids become more resilient. From his unique perspective and wide range of experience, he wrote the book Untethered. Show Highlights:When it comes to discipline and punishment with our kids, we are getting it wrong.Incentives, motivations, and punishmentsRegulation and dysregulation show up differently for different kids. (“Misbehavior is stress behavior.” –Stuart Shanker)Figure out the “why” of the stress—and help them learn to cope.How punishments reinforce failure and create shameUnderstanding upstream vs. downstream behaviorsOur expectations of students under the guise of “academic rigor”The results of our insensitivity to kids’ developmental needsAn issue of development: Kids born in August are 31% more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than kids born in September.Steps to create upstream solutions to help kids build resilience when they misbehave:Focus on assisting them to get regulated.Get curious, and listen to what’s going on with them. Get them talking to each other to create a community of belonging.The value of taking a classroom to “pause and ponder.”Resources:Connect with Dr. Doug Bolton: Website and UntetheredContact us on social media or through our website for more information on the IEP Learning Center: www.inclusiveeducationproject.org.Thank you for listening!Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday. If you enjoyed this episode and believe in our message, please help us get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show on Apple Podcasts, Pandora, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your rating and review help other listeners find this show. Be sure to connect with us and reach out with any questions or concerns: Facebook, Instagram, X, IEP Website, and Email.

The Current State of DEI in the US: What is Worth Fighting For?

With so many school holidays fast approaching, there are many kids who need interventions right now, and their parents are panicking. Furthermore, the effects of the government shutdown are being felt as Head Start programs are having to close their doors. Families are scrambling, and we are witnessing significant shifts that are having a profound impact on our kids. Today’s guest shares her perspective on anti-DEI sentiment and the current state of our country, affecting both education and the corporate world. Nadine Jones is a 2003 graduate of Howard Law School, with a background in antitrust and corporate law as a general counsel. In January of 2025, she left that corporate position to work from home as a consultant. As the mother of a special-needs son, she has insight into what parents in the US face today. Show Highlights:Nadine’s perspective on the most immediate risks to legal compliance in the shutting down of DEI programsAnti-DEI sentiment, which causes major problems for contractors whose top customer is the federal governmentDiverse workforces and better marketplace competitionNadine’s advice for educators who want to do the right thing for their students (in lower and higher education)Ethical considerations when funding is not availableWhat was so attractive about eliminating DEI?Nadine’s thoughts about what’s coming and what our attitudes should beThe importance of letting the data ground what we doDEI work can go on, even when it’s not termed “DEI.”Resources:Connect with Nadine JonesWebsite and LinkedIn Contact us on social media or through our website for more information on the IEP Learning Center: www.inclusiveeducationproject.org.Thank you for listening!Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday. If you enjoyed this episode and believe in our message, please help us get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show on Apple Podcasts, Pandora, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your rating and review help other listeners find this show. Be sure to connect with us and reach out with any questions or concerns: Facebook, Instagram, X, IEP Website, and Email.

How to Raise a Citizen (And Why It’s Up to You to Do It) with Lindsey Cormack

Today’s topic is one that not many people are talking about, but it’s a big problem in our country. We are discussing the deficit in our children’s education about civics, government, and basic politics. As parents and educators, we have a huge responsibility to do better, and today’s guest is taking on the challenge. Join us to learn more!Lindsey Cormack is a professor of political science at Stevens Institute of Technology, a little-known but premier engineering school in Hoboken, NJ. Seeing extremely bright students every day who don’t understand the basics of our government prompted her to write How to Raise a Citizen (And Why It's Up to You to Do It). The guidebook is geared toward parents to help them produce good citizens who are active and knowledgeable participants in our government and politics. Show Highlights:Lindsey’s extensive research and writing processIdentifying the deficit and what can be done about itOur educational plan in civics and government is NOT working.The “We don’t talk about politics” attitude is not helping our children.Two ends of the spectrum about politics in the USIt’s not fair (or true) to say that all politics are bad.Kids need to see specific behaviors modeled, like collaboration through difference, information-seeking techniques, normalizing disagreement, and how to consider another perspective.The beauty of American democracy is based on collaboration and compromise, and our kids need to learn this.“Raise an athlete—not a fan.”Parents should be the agents of change.An overview of Lindsey’s bookKey takeaways from LindseyResources:Connect with Lindsey Cormack: Website and How to Raise a Citizen (And Why It's Up to You to Do It)Contact us on social media or through our website for more information on the IEP Learning Center: www.inclusiveeducationproject.org.Thank you for listening!Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday. If you enjoyed this episode and believe in our message, please help us get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show on Apple Podcasts, Pandora, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your rating and review help other listeners find this show. Be sure to connect with us and reach out with any questions or concerns: Facebook, Instagram, X, IEP Website, and Email.

A Look at CA Assembly Bill 461 and a New, Much-Needed Approach to Truancy

Typically, October is a busy month for us as we are already a couple of months into the new school year; reality has set in, and winter/holiday breaks are fast approaching. Today’s focus comes from a lively topic of discussion that was posted on our Instagram last week: an update on CA Assembly Bill 461, which repeals a 2011 Truancy Law. That law provided for criminal misdemeanor charges, fines, and jail time for parents of chronically truant children or for a student over 18 with chronic truancy. The problem is that the law disproportionately affects low-income students and those with disabilities, some of whom are fighting for the accommodations and support they need. The new law repeals the 2011 law and sets forth a plan for supportive strategies instead of punishments. Join us to learn more!Show Highlights:The backfiring of the 2011 law: The first case prosecuted a person of color with a child with sickle-cell anemia while she was trying to get additional accommodations in place.Governor Newsome’s perspective on the new law, effective January 2026, is that this is a social issue and not a criminal problem.The problems families face in receiving attendance letters when they are actively trying to get their kids into schoolMany parents are trying to find ways to ensure it is safe for their child to go to school. Local change CAN happen!The new law offers a more collaborative approach to the truancy problem. The ramifications of the CA law that might spread to other statesResources:Contact us on social media or through our website for more information on the IEP Learning Center: www.inclusiveeducationproject.org.Thank you for listening!Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday. If you enjoyed this episode and believe in our message, please help us get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show on Apple Podcasts, Pandora, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your rating and review help other listeners find this show. Be sure to connect with us and reach out with any questions or concerns: Facebook, Instagram, X, IEP Website, and Email.